Martin O’Neill has revealed he has received messages of support from Villa fans despite their current slump – but accepts they have ‘miles to go’ to get the club where he wants.
Villa’s UEFA Cup dreams are hanging by a thread after collecting just two points from 15.
But the Villa chief said: “Remarkably, there has been a lot of positive feedback – which I also take with a pinch of salt.
“It’s sometimes nice to hear from people who say: ‘We’ve been really disappointed these last few weeks, but over all we’re very pleased with what’s happening here.’”
O’Neill admits Villa have ‘miles to go’ to get where he wants them to be after last week’s defeat at Manchester United gave him a vision of where he wants to be.
“We got beaten last weekend and we’ve got lots to do,” he said. “We were at the wrong end of a beating but I saw where we want to go.
“We have miles to go, and I don’t think any self-respecting Villa fan will think anything other than that.
“Expectations are very high, and I’m pleased it’s high. Now we have to try to match that expectation.
“The best way is to win. And while we don’t have the resources of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, we have to work hard to get there. But it doesn’t happen overnight.”
O’Neill stressed the need to keep things in perspective, adding: “I’m not consumed by one good result or one poor result.
“You don’t go back 97 positions when you lose, or gain 97 positions when you win.
“We have to try to win more games. Overall we’ve played very attractively this season. And yet the expectation is if you don’t beat Sunderland, you accept the criticism that follows.
“Even if you’re winning, somebody will say you didn’t win well enough because you should have scored a fourth or a fifth goal.
“Where the club is going and where I want it to go would be exactly the same place as every Villa fan.”
2 Comments
we may not have the resources of the ‘big 4′ but surely we should have had the resources to beat ‘boro and sunderland at home. its true we have made progress in the time martin has been at villa but he must also understand that the fans have been in this position before under previous managers and we dont want to retrace our steps of the past in ‘two steps forward and four back’.
Keeping it short, but did you notice him in the other article saying he was priced out in jan. That’s not what he said just after jan, he actually said the prices weren’t high, just the clubs wouldn’t budge over selling, why is he changing his story?
Just thought i’d highlight this.